Let's tessellate
by Heart of Summer
Summary: This is a coellction of moments that Mulan and Aurora experience on their way to find an save prince Philip. During their journey they get to know each other on a whole other level... and realize that feelings between two women does not always have to be platonic. Hearts can change with time.
1. Learning

_Go alone my flower  
And keep my whole lovely you  
Wild green stones alone my lover  
And keep us on my heart_

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"I'm not so sure about this, Aurora."  
Aurora smiled at the mention of her name. Every time the female warrior let her name sweetly flutter off her lips a little thorn, like the ones that had once hid her sleeping form away from the rest of the world in, tickled her heart. It was painful yet somehow enjoyable, this sting from a bush filled with treacherous roses. She found herself preferring the flowers Mulan had told her about one dark night by the fire. Light pink ones that blossomed for only a week, before their petals would start raining down like snow in your hair. She remembered the name in Chinese…  
"Yīng huā…" she whispered it quietly to herself, loosing herself in a daydream where she would stand inside the forest made up of only those pink trees, the petals burying her under a light carpet of fallen flowers.

"What are you saying Aurora? Are you sleepwalking again?" Aurora blinked and realized Mulan was gripping the side of her arms, her face a little bit too close for comfort. She felt her cheeks flush as she shook her head, quite violently. The hands let her go, but Mulan's almond-shaped eyes still studied her with a slight sharpness of worry in them.

"N-no!" she managed to stutter. "I was just thinking of the possibilities… of this road being the right one." She felt a little relived. They were standing at a crossroad and they knew they were getting closer to finding the horrible monster that had stolen their prince away. The forest had grown darker by each day and the trees had started losing their leaves. Soon there would be nothing but black, deformed hands clawing up at the sky above them. Aurora shivered at the thought.

"Well, I tried using the magic in the sword, but… I'm not sure it's right."

"Mulan, it's a sword not a compass…" Aurora teased, rolling her eyes.

"I'm aware." Mulan grumbled. They were in the middle of the dark woods, dodging werewolves, trolls and a handful of mean pixies and Aurora still found a way to get on her nerves; and being charming while doing so. It was hard to believe if you had not experienced it firsthand.

"I think I'm getting used to the dark," Aurora said and even though she had a hard time making out Aurora's features in the darkness, Mulan could almost hear her smiling. Mulan grumbled an answer and led them down the path in the dark. Now she just went with the one that felt wrong, out of place. The one that felt like there might be an evil soul sucker on somewhere further down.  
Aurora was close behind her; she could hear the rustling of her skirts. The princess' movements had grown quieter with each week and now she was barely audible. It had helped that Mulan had used her sword to cut the hem shorter. But Mulan always listened for those little tells that assured her that her companion still kept her pace.

The moonlight sipping through the trees made her think of being underwater, and even though she tried to avoid the places where the trees stood further apart she wished she could pull Aurora out into the moonlight and just… watch her.

"It's so beautiful…" Aurora said as if she'd heard the warrior's thoughts. "It's as if when the light touched something it wakes up and become alive anew." Mulan sighed, looked around and decided it would be a good a place as any. It was early morning anyway, and if they were to get some sleep before dawn it might as well be now.

"Let's spend the night here", she murmured. And she was sure she could hear Aurora smiling again.

They did their duties which they had now both grown into. They did them every morning and each night. Aurora packed up the tent and put out blankets; Mulan picked out stones and branches and made up a fire. A fire scared animals and magical creatures; which were much more common out here than any human. They took the chance to boil their water and cook their food for an hour or two, and then they would let it turn into nothing but glowing embers that would keep their fingers from growing stiff with the cold. When they sat down to drink their soup made on herbs, rabbit and wine Aurora smiled into the coals and said:

"I never had much of an idea of how it is to be married, but I'm guessing it will be something quite close to this…" Then she closed her eyes and took another sip. Mulan felt a warm blush settle on her neck. She had been thinking something along those lines, but knew that if Aurora thought this then she was in the wrong. Mulan knew these would all be Aurora's duties once she became married. And if she became a queen she would not have to do anything. Mulan did not know what the princess would like the least. Having to do everything, or not having to do anything at all.

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"I still don't think it's a good idea."

She side stepped as Aurora threw herself to attack. Mulan turned around and smacked Aurora's behind with the flat side of her sword. Aurora gave up a loud gasp, grasped her bottom with both hands and blushed furiously.

"Mulaaaaan! That is no way to treat a princess!" She huffed and Mulan knew that had her hands not been caressing her buttocks they would be balled up into small fists. She couldn't stop herself from laughing at the princess behind the shelter of her own glowed hand.

"Well princess, that is what any man who gets the chance will do to you! You've got to be quick enough to prevent it. Cut his hand off."

Aurora's eyes grew big as boulders and her hands flew to her mouth in horror.

"Cut it off?" she whispered in fearful astonishment. Mulan stopped smiling and explained.

"No, I mean cut his move off before he-" she trailed off when Aurora kept looking at her like she'd just told her she was biologically a man. Mulan started laughing, not able to hide it this time. Of course she really should get used to cutting people's body parts off if going into battle, but Aurora was so unlikely to hurt a fly in Mulan's eyes that it was a ridiculous thought. She'd seen her wanting to slash Snow's throat that one time, but she still believed Aurora was driven by kindness. So she believed she would not have cut Snow back then, but she knew that the princess did have it in her. And with some guidance; could learn. She went back to the basics of body language, the way Aurora would've been taught when she was growing up.

"Look… You've been taught to dance, right?"

"Well… yes…"

"Think of it as dancing. Two steps forward, once step back. One hand for balance and one hand on your partner; which in this case is your weapon."

Aurora stared as if Mulan spoke in her mother tongue.

"Look, I'll show you. Take my hand."

Aurora looked at Mulan like she was asking the impossible, but she still let her hand into hers. She could hear every breath coming out of the princess' mouth and it made her fingers tingle. Mulan pulled her sweetly closer to her as she spoke kindly.

"Look, you take one step towards me, and look how close we are. You could put that sword into me without me being able to see it." Aurora blushed and moved the sword, but Mulan's hand, holding her sword, was on top of hers. "But I can feel it. Your muscles tense up and you… well, you blink."

"I do?" Aurora said surprised and blinked again. Mulan nodded, before taking a step back. Then she tugged at Aurora again, and when the princess stepped close, the warrior stepped back.

"Like that. You have to be aware of your opponents every movement. You can't miss a moment or you might get cut." They stepped back and forth a few times, then Aurora stepped to the side and Mulan followed. It was as if their bodies worked in perfect harmony despite their opposites. The grass rustled under their bare feet and the wind was sweetly pulling their hair. Mulan noticed all of that and more, while trying to ignore Aurora's eyes filled with wonder. She felt like she was being evaluated.

"Mulan, you must be an amazing dancer," Aurora said in a sweet voice. Mulan swallowed hard.

"Not in particular." She made sure to stare at Aurora's chin, just to make sure she wasn't pulled in by those eyes.

"I don't believe you..." She teased softly.

"This is about you learning to fight Princess. Stay focused, will you?" Mulan tried to scold her, but the princess only giggled.

"But you lead so well, it's like dancing with a man!" Mulan huffed a little but said nothing. "Okay, so if I can disarm you, you'll dance with me?"

"That won't happen," Mulan said sternly. She gripped her sword tighter. That's when Aurora took a step back, and right when the warrior followed Aurora took a step forward instead, coming so close that their noses almost touched. Mulan felt her face grow hot as she tried to step away, catching her breath. That's when Aurora kicked her feet out from under her and put the blade of her sword to Mulan's side. Half on the ground, Mulan stared at her in amazement.

"You see, I usually do anything to get what I want." Mulan's stomach fluttered as Aurora dropped her sword, took her hand and pulled her up to her feet again. "You just have to put the right price in front of me." Then she leaned into Mulan and whispered into her ear, teasingly;

"Now dance with me, my noble warrior." Mulan shook her head, but did as the princess asked. Twirling her around in her skirts, they danced to the music of the birds, the wind and their own laughter. Soon Aurora would start humming a melody from faraway lands and Mulan could for a moment forget the quest they were on. She wished she could be that noble warrior forever.

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**A/N: I was working on this for a couple of days, and well, there's more where this come from. But I need a few more stories in between, so be patient with me.**

**If you like it, there'll definatly be more. Let me know! ;D**


	2. Searching

_Triangles are my favorite shape  
Three points where two lines meet  
Toe to toe, back to back, let's go, my love; it's very late  
'Til morning comes, let's tessellate_

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The small village was a beautiful place filled with tiny, white houses.  
The gravel on the road crunched under their boots as they walked by a small butcher shop.  
"No one seems to be awake yet…" Aurora said and stifled a yawn. The sun is just rising behind them, and the anticipation of early spring morning is hanging in the air.

"It hardly looks like anyone's here. Maybe they were all brought to Storybrook too." Mulan doesn't answer her at first. She was sure there would still be people left this far off.

"Mulan," Aurora almost whined, pulling at her skirts. "Why are we even here?"

"Just…a hunch. A courageous woman I once met told me that if I ever needed information this was the place to go…" Mulan heard Aurora stop in her tracks.

"A courageous wom-…? What kind of woman?" Mulan turned to face the princess.

"She saved my life. And Philips." Aurora's face turned from white to pink in the morning glow.

"I demand that you tell me at once about all of this!" Mulan looked at her in disbelief.

Aurora felt like huffing and puffing someone's house down. If not the entire village. Not only was Mulan not willing to tell her about this woman, but she had called her courageous! Aurora's heart was thumping painfully in her chest. How could she have helped Philip when Mulan couldn't? Aurora knew immediately she could never measure up to that.

"She was the one who introduced us, actually… In a way." Mulan shrugged. Aurora was about to go off the wagon, so to speak, completely un-princess-like, when suddenly the windows across the street flew open and a happy;

"Bonjour!" was heard across the street. It was soon answered by a few others (Bonjour, bonjour, bonjour!), and while the two companions stood looking all around them, the streets suddenly had people on them. Not as many as it probably had once been, but people all the same.

A woman with a baby on her arm walked past them, giving Mulan an angry stare, as if she should be ashamed walking around with a sword that her baby could get poked by. A baker walked past with a tray filled with fresh bread. Aurora's mouth watered at the smell, and she dug in her bag for a few copper coins.

"Excuse me, baker!" The fat man turned around, smiling with his red apple cheeks at the princess.

"Yes, mademoiselle? What will it be?" Aurora smiled back, and pointed at a kind of long bread that smelled of something lovely and spicy, it tickled her nose in a lovely way.

"Oh, how much are those long ones?"

"Ooh, the baguettes? Two coppers would be enough." Aurora pulled two out and accepted the long bread. She curtseyed and then turned around, striding towards Mulan with it tucked under her arm. Mulan took her hand in her gloved one and pulled her with her down the road.

"Why did you spend your money? We have enough. We can hunt."

"Well, I haven't had bread in ages. This smelled amazing! What are those spices?" Mulan threw a glance in her direction, then smiled.

"You've never had garlic?"

"No, never."

"It's a kind of tiny onion. Salty and full of flavor. My mom used it in some dishes back home in my village."

"Can we have breakfast when we've found this person?" Mulan nodded as they walked through a tiny square with a fountain in the middle.

"Sure. We'll get some butter to have on it too, or cheese. You'll like that." Aurora felt her thumb stroke against the back of her hand.

"If you say so…" Suddenly they were in front of and old little store. On the outside there was a sign with an open book painted on it and with big, black letters written above. Mulan stopped and looked back at Aurora.

"We're here."

Mulan reached out for the door that only came to her knees and pushed it open. The golden bell chimed happily above their heads, announcing their arrival. Someone obviously heard it since there was a loud thud, and after that someone that shouted:

"Give me a minute, just a minute! I've managed to build myself inside the geography section again!"

"Mulan…" Aurora said with a little gasp. The shop was filled with books of all shapes and sizes, all around the walls. The princess walked towards one of the shelves, looking like she was planning on climbing up the ladder that was built into it.

Mulan turned around and saw books standing on the window sill. She let her fingertips touch their spines as if they were treasures. She had never seen this many books in one place. Her village was more into paper scrolls, and not so much owning other people's written words. The stories of your elders were the most important gift that could be passed on to you. To honor them you were expected to learn these stories by heart and then pass them on yourself, through generations to come. That's why books were somewhat of a hidden treasure.

"Sorry, sorry…. Aah. Newcomers. How may I help you?" Mulan turned around to see an old man with a white goat beard, a white apron and a pair of glasses resting on his hawk like nose. He looked sturdy, calm and trustworthy even if he was very short. Mulan knew immediately that they had found the man they'd been looking for. She gave a bow and opened her mouth to speak, but the man was holding up a hand and laughing.

"Wait, let me guess." He turned to Aurora. "What are you looking for? A tale of a beautiful princess perhaps? Or the latest fashion, designs made by mice?" He winked at her and laughed. Aurora just looked at him in disbelief.

"There are books about those kinds of things?" The man smiled kindly and nodded.

"Miss, they are books. There are books about absolutely everything you can ever imagine. Worlds beyond compare, all hidden in the pages. Truths and dreams." He threw his arms up into the air to emphasize his point. Then he laughed again and turned to Mulan.

"But by the looks of it you might need my help with something else entirely. What do you need, my dear?"

Mulan had a hard time finding her voice. Her fingers were aching with wanting to reach for the closest book and explore its' content.

"I was sent here. By Belle." Mulan paused when the man looked at her in disbelief. "She said you would know who she was if I only mentioned her name…"

"Oh, I know who she is," clucked the old man, somewhat sadly. He took off his glasses and rubbed them with the corner of his apron. "But I haven't seen or heard from her in a long time. Last I heard she was actually owned by a terrible beast; the Dark One."

"Then you'll be happy to know she's free, but unfortunately she was moved with a big portion of the fairytale land." Mulan said, wishing she could bring the man some good news. "But she was a courageous woman back when I met her, and I bet she is just fine."

The man put his glasses back on and smiled even kinder.

"Oh, I would very much agree with you. Though I'm glad to hear that she managed to get away from that monster. I've read many books that have got villains based on his inhumane acts. But if it's one thing I'm sure of, it's that Belle is the only person who could see beauty where everyone else had lost the hope of finding it."

Mulan smiled at the memory of the cursed Prince Philip. "She did have a way of looking past the monster and seeing what's hiding on the inside." She turned to look at Aurora, who was gazing at her with an unreadable expression on her face. When Mulan met her eyes, she abruptly turned away.

"Yes, she surely did. Well, I will do my best to help you find what you're looking for, if you'll just tell me." The warrior nodded.

"Well, you see our… friend. Well, Prince Philip, has been robbed of his soul… it's a dark hooded creature that mark people and suck out their souls to survive… but we think there is a way, maybe, to return the soul since we still have his body." She took a deep breath. "This must sound a bit crazy, but we really do believe-"

"Let me stop you right there." She looked up to see the old man scratching his white goatee. "I've heard of these creatures, and read of them too. They are called different things in different stories. Cloaks, Dementors, Banshees… But I know just the right book for you. Just give me a moment." Then he disappeared behind two bookshelves like it had been an invisible door.

"She sounds really nice…" Aurora mumbled and made Mulan turn around to face her. The princess was cradling a book in her arms, a book with a dark blue cover, like the sky on a summer night without the stars. She opened it and Mulan saw flashes of colorful images painted upon the pages.

"You mean Belle?" Mulan asked. Aurora just nodded. It was something in the way Mulan seemed to remember this Belle. As if… as if … Aurora couldn't even form the words in her mind, they were too unlikely, to crazy, to… dirty for a princess to even know the existence of. But that didn't stop the immediate sickening feeling she had in her chest. Like the memory of this girl formed a solid shape and had placed itself neatly on top of Aurora's chest, trying to prevent her from breathing properly.

Mulan walked over to her, putting her finger in-between the pages, stopping Auroras constant flapping of them. She flipped the page and then let her hand go across the beautiful drawn picture of a woman hiding under a bush, with a prince in front of her and a huge white castle in the background. The corner of the page was ripped off, like some animal had been eating on it.

Mulan's fingers went to feel the rough edge of the ripped paper and met Aurora's fingers there. They both looked up and realized they were mere inches from each other. Mulan could feel Aurora's curls tickling her cheek and she could see the sweetness of the princess' cheeks as they turned light pink.

"I found it, ladies…" the man said. They both broke apart, Mulan nodded and made a noise of approval. He was standing still and this made her feel awkward, since he'd probably witnessed their closeness. It was in his knowing smile, somehow.

It was strange though. Mulan could still feel the smell of Aurora on her skin. When she'd first been woken up she'd smelled heavily of roses, roses like with the thorns which of that she'd been imprisoned. But now she smelled of lavender, almonds and fresh dirt, like the woods. It was a strange thing to realize that someone's smell can change like that.

"This is only four copper coins, this one." He smiled and showed them a leather bound, black book. It was small in size, with a golden emblem that looked like the shape of a man on the front. Mulan nodded and hurried up to pay the man.

"I also have a great deal of books about courageous female warriors and their princesses from a place in ancient times called Greece… " He mumbled, giving Mulan a little wink. Mulan quickly put away her book and straightened up.

"No thank you, we'll be just fine…!" Then he noticed the book in Aurora's hands.

"Oh. That used to be Belle's favorite. I got it back through someone who raided the Castle after the Dark One had disappeared. I gave it to her." He smiled sadly. "It has the most wonderful stories."

"Do you have something like it?" Aurora asked, a glimmer in her eyes, filled with the hope that a new story can give you.

"You know, I know just the book…" He went to the window and pulled out a green little book with a Tree etched into the leather frame. "It's a collection of fairytales from different places. It's got everything." Aurora accepted it with careful hands and looked at it lovingly.

"Thank you. How much do I owe you?" The man just smiled and shook his head.

"You know, with that look you have on your face I couldn't charge you for it. It might help you two get your minds of the hard task ahead. Stories can help us understand the world we live in, but also offer us a kind of escape from it all the same, for a few minutes." He nodded slowly. "Now I wish you two the best of luck in finding your… Prince. And…" he scratched his beard. "Make sure to cherish what you have while you're looking. If the result is not what you wished for, at least you will have the memories of the hope the two of you shared."

Mulan and Aurora thanked the old man profoundly. Aurora even shook his hand three times before they were out on the street in the sunlight again. The princess was clutching the book to her chest, anticipation across her face.

"Let's go get some fresh butter to put on this bread," Mulan said, thinking about the words of the old Book shop owner.

"Well, hello there. And who might you be, shining this place up?" Mulan's hand was on the hilt of her sword as she turned around to see a huge, well built man in front of Aurora. His red shirt looked like it might burst open since his chest was so wide. He had a long black ponytail and looked like he was gonna eat Aurora for breakfast.

"Oh, I'm just passing through," she told him, trying to get past.

"But don't rush. I'm sure I can find you a reason to stay." The man raised his eyebrows and smiled. Three girls walking by actually sighed at that. Mulan started walking over there when Aurora did something surprising.

"Oh, I hardly think that's possible. Besides, I already have a warrior to take care of me, what else could I need?" She swiveled past the man, walked to Mulan and hooked her arm to hers and threw him one last, cold; "Goodbye." Then she started walking, bringing Mulan with her like nothing had happened.

"I really can't wait to read this book," she mumbled happily. "I can read aloud to you tonight at dinner!" Mulan just looked at her in shock, and then smiled silently.

"I would like that very much, Princess."

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**A/N: It'll be a few more chapters. I have the last chapter written, but it's the in between parts that are taking some time to fill out ;P So please forgive my slow writing!**


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